Wheat is one of the world’s key staple foods and has a high nutritional value, especially when consumed as whole grain. However, crops such as wheat in particular are frequently susceptible to different types of mould, including some that produce poisonous substances known as mycotoxins. Around a quarter of all crops are affected. In the course of an earlier research project Susanne Miescher Schwenninger and her team at ZHAW found micro-organisms that are demonstrably capable of degrading mycotoxins by natural processes. Their current project is researching exactly how this happens so that they can assess the potential for applying the technique to cereals.
